Trilogies are always tough. No matter how well things are planned out in advance, changes, sometimes sweeping, are inevitable. Given the inherent difficulties, it’s a bit strange to see the model has nearly become the industry standard. That doesn’t necessarily make it any easier but there is a definite satisfaction in seeing a story through until its conclusion. How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World brings a satisfying, if not completely fulfilling, end to one of the better animated films series.
Writer/Director Dean DeBlois stayed at the helm for the entirety of the trilogy but stretching this story over three movies, totaling approximately five hours, was asking a lot of one person. Writer/Director Chris Sanders and writer William Davies both left after the first film and, in hindsight, their absence became more apparent. Looking back at the original, there was a distinctly intrinsic quality that emanated from the relationship between the young hero and his newfound dragon. Their bond and growth curve were easily relatable and watching the pair grow together served as the emotional core of the story. Ultimately, the entire three-film arc is about their bond as friends, and essentially as brothers, but that was seriously stripped down through the second and into the third movie. Look, I understand this is a “kids” movie but it didn’t feel that way watching the original back in 2010. This time around, far too many of would-be background characters were given prominent roles with dialogue that was smirk-worthy at best. Most animated films these days tend to have a fairly keen sense of humor but it just sort of fizzled with this script. DeBlois actually wrote a very solid story with a good villain, it simply got bogged down with too much of the periphery and didn’t reach deep enough as a result. To his credit, he knew exactly where the heart of this franchise was and brought it all full circle by the end. Never too proud to say I got a bit misty eyed, just wish more of the movie had been like the final third.
There was an element of natural chemistry that seemed to be missing within the cast. For whatever reason, it just wasn’t clicking. That may sound like an odd thing to say considering it’s an animated film but the best ones manage to convey a great deal of emotion. Just look to Into the Spider-Verse from last year as a prime example. The romance here between Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and Astrid (America Ferrera) is really just a few broad strokes. There could have been so much more there but it was just a plot mechanism to get to the desired outcome. Sadly, it kinda felt that way with the majority of the characters. Some of them served a minimal purpose while others were there solely for gags. Again, I know this was aimed mostly at children but it just felt hollow.
It’s no secret a significant portion of this movie’s sales pitch was attached to the visual spectacle, not the emotional depth. Of all the films in the franchise, this was the biggest, most elaborate, most dragon-filled adventure yet. Pierre-Olivier Vincent has been around for all three movies and his production design here highlighted the stark contrast between dragons and humans, both good and bad. The bleak, wooden aesthetic of Viking-era civilization juxtaposed against the natural and endlessly colorful “hidden world” served as an important distinction between man and nature both for the humans in the story and for the ones sitting in the audience.
For a bookend film closing out a trilogy, things could have been a lot worse…they could have been better too. John Powell’s music certainly punched things up and provided an epic feel to the adventure so, when everything did come to an end, the audience is on the right frequency emotionally. All in all, this was a nice end to the story and more than entertaining enough to keep it in contention for Best Animated Feature.
Recommendation: If you’ve seen the first two, then you need to close out the series. For those who haven’t seen the franchise before, this isn’t a great introductory point but it looks good and you can start to pick it up as you go along. This is definitely one for the kids and if you can, 3D was certainly worth it in this instance.